SB Nation User Blog: goingforthecorner

RB Ryan Moats should be the full-time starter

goingforthecorner — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:32:56 -0000

That's it. I've had it with Slaton's fumbles, and Kubiak has as well. Slaton simply does not deserve to be our starting RB. I would use him sparingly in screens, or if we ever run the wildcat, but that's about it.

Moats might be faster than Slaton, is great at finding holes, and DOESN'T FUMBLE THE FOOTBALL.

I will be pissed if he's not leading the RB depth chart next week. This should be his job to lose, period!

Poll

Who should be the starting running back?

Bill Simmons' NBA season preview (Rockets)

goingforthecorner — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:08:57 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/part2/091023&sportCat=nba

Here's what he has for the Rockets. Daryl Morey ranks #12 in "Most Intriguing NBA People"

12. Daryl Morey
On paper, the Rockets look like a lottery team. Their best player (Yao) is gone for the year. Their second-best player is probably never going to be the same. Everyone else is a role player or an overachiever. But they do certain things really well: shoot threes, defend the hell out of perimeter guys, play unselfishly, pound the glass, stuff like that. It's one of those "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" teams. I am picking them to win 44 games and make the playoffs. Which brings me to my point: the '09 Rockets took the Lakers to a seventh game operating with half a salary cap (because Yao and T-Mac were out). The '10 Rockets start out with 80 percent of a cap because Yao is gone; that number might shrink if T-Mac can't successfully come back. And yet, I am still picking a hodgepodge group of non-All-Stars to win 44.

Why? Because of Morey (or as he's more affectionately known, Dork Elvis). He's been like a hot guy at a craps table for two solid years. Nobody else is nailing 85-90 percent of their moves big and small. Nobody. Since he's my friend, he's doing so well that I am starting to worry about a Bud Fox-like meltdown; right now he's at the point in "Wall Street" when the Talking Heads song is playing, his stock picks are hitting and he's decorating the fancy New York apartment with Daryl Hannah. We haven't gotten to the part when his ego swelled and he took on Gordon Gekko yet. And maybe that won't happen.

I just know this: He texted me last month that Chase Budinger was for real; two years ago, I would have mocked him. This year? I nodded. Absolutely. Chase Budinger. Why not? I have learned not to bet against Dork Elvis.

I'll go with that. If we can continue to play at an elite level at home like we did last year without T-Mac/Yao, and then McGrady can return and give us a huge offensive boost, we can up that win total to the upper 40s.

[ESPN] Horns face first test in Red River Rivalry

goingforthecorner — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:18:18 -0000

[ESPN] Horns face first test in Red River Rivalry

Summary: We can't evaluate Texas until they play a ranked team.

The Kevin Durant Conundrum

goingforthecorner — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:07:30 -0000

Very well written article by Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on ESPN. He's a stats oriented basketball analyst and a Portland Trailblazers fan. While I say this is a good article, I'm sure many will dislike his analysis of Kevin Durant, which mostly focuses on plus-minus statistics.

To make it short, according to these statistics, KD's impact on his team (Oklahoma City Thunder) is significantly negative. In fact, his team according to these +/- stats performs better when he's on the bench. WTF!? indeed. The article address many of the counterpoints you'd think of, such as Durant's +/- being horrible since he's on a bad team, the number of minutes he plays, the fact that he has to carry the load, etc. What's interesting though is how his teammates' +/- along with 2, 3, 4, and 5-man rotations having decent +/- 's that don't include him.

Like I said earlier, there could possibly be some bias here, as Abbott is a Blazers fan and is definitely trying to justify the Greg Oden draft selection. Whether you agree or disagree with his premise of KD's extremely negative contribution to his team, it sparks a good debate about statistical analysis in basketball, specifically these +/- stats and how we should really interpret them. Why do these stats reflect so poorly on him when it appears he's a top 10 player in the NBA? A conundrum indeed.

Here's the original article:

The Kevin Durant Conundrum

KD got a hold of this article and is obviously disturbed by it, and he "tweets" the following (I also saw this on his facebook fan page).

Everybody that is doubtin me as a player and my team as a whole..all i can say is that we all are tryin and workin our hardest!

What more do u want? let me be the player i am...i come to practice everyday..and push myself to my limit, God has put me n a gr8 position!!

I love all the REAL basketball fans who appreciate hardwork, passion and love for the game..and not jus "plus and minuses"...wateva dat is!

Abbott writes another fantastic article in response to these tweets, where he not only explains the statistics, but does it in more of a basketball language. As us Longhorn basketball fans already knew, despite his incredible raw talents, he still has a lot to work on. Specifically, he needs to improve on his defense and pick-and-roll execution. The fact that many of his teammates perform better when he's off the floor suggests he's not doing a good job at making his teammates better. So we can see he's not there yet, but there's no reason to believe he won't get there. In Abbott's response article, he mentions other stars that went through similar struggles, so KD is in good territory.

Here's Abbott's response to Durant's "tweets" (sigh).

Memo to a Young Baller

ESPN Power Rankings 9/25

goingforthecorner — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:05:02 -0000

This is just laughable how so many people continue to neglect that we're a pretty damn good team even without Yao and McGrady. The team that beat the Lakers at home without either of those stars gained Ariza (upgrade over Artest), Andersen, Budinger, and Taylor. It's pretty obvious that T-Mac is going to return much earlier than expected. It's the worst kept secret in Houston right now, and yet people still think we're lottery bound LOL.

ESPN Power Rankings

Rockets are ranked 22nd out of 30 teams. The Thunder, Clippers, and Bobcats are ranked ahead of us. Just wow. Definite bulletin board material.

Peter Gammons on Drayton (hope this works)

goingforthecorner — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:17:52 -0000

Peter Gammons on Drayton (hope this works)

Kindle destroys Potts.

goingforthecorner — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:58:33 -0000

Kindle destroys Potts.

John Smoltz a possibility?

goingforthecorner — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:47:26 -0000

Saw that the Astros were briefly mentioned in this article involving John Smoltz.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4387781

Sources: Several clubs like Smoltz

There are many NL contenders currently scrambling for pitching -- the Dodgers, the Cubs the Brewers and the Astros, among them -- and there are teams willing to give the right-hander a shot at re-establishing himself in the league where he dominated for two decades.

If you ask me, Smoltzy looks like he's done, and I'd like to see him doing some color commentary. But for our rotation, could he be an upgrade at the #5 spot? Or maybe he could give us an extra arm in the pen and do some spot-starting?

Poll

Does John Smoltz interest you?

Sure, why not?

40 votes

No thanks

25 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed

Titans vs Bills Hall of Fame game thread

goingforthecorner — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:03 -0000

Oh my... football season has arrived!

Thought I'd make a thread on BON. Not only to discuss the game, but VY is expected to get plenty of reps in this game, so it'll be interesting to see if he's fully healthy and how well he runs and throws. If anything, it'll be refreshing to see him playing on a football field, rather than in articles and interviews. It's nice to see him play instead of talk. Let the HOF career begin!

Titans will be wearing the old Houston Oilers uniform. This will be interesting, and awkward... considering the way Bud Adams took his Oilers away from the Houstonians.

[ESPN] Astros making usual second-half move

goingforthecorner — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:38:02 -0000

Nice to get some respect for this recent surge. Vina made some good points. Nothing we don't already know of course. Cliff Lee would be a nice consolation prize if we couldn't get a Halliday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/notebook?page=bbtn

By Fernando Vina, ESPN

It seems like every year we forget about how much of a push the Houston Astros make in the second half. They looked like a completely clueless team at the end of May, when the Astros were 20-29 and 9½ games back in the NL Central. They were completely off everyone's radar. We should have known a run was coming, given that Houston's average record after the break in the past five seasons is 42-31. And the run has come -- the Astros have trimmed that 9½-game deficit all the way down to one game. This team doesn't stop battling, yet it hasn't played in October since its 2005 World Series run.

You look at the NL Central this year and certainly no one is running away with it. The Cubs, despite putting an end to the Phillies' 10-game winning streak with a win Wednesday, haven't been nearly the same team they were a year ago. The Cardinals haven't been able to create any real separation from the rest of the pack. The Astros have fought their way to a 49-46 record and are now legitimate contenders. It all starts with their ace, Roy Oswalt.

In his career, Oswalt has been impressive in the second half, posting a 68-20 record after the All-Star break. He's a hard thrower with great durability, a guy built to keep you in games. And that's exactly what he did Wednesday, locking in a duel with St. Louis' Chris Carpenter. He kept the Astros in the game, and Houston came to post a 4-3 win. Sure, Oswalt got a no-decision, but he kept his team within striking distance, and when you have that type of guy to anchor your rotation, the chances of winning every five days are tremendous.

Wandy Rodriguez gives you that shot, as well. He's 10-6 with a 2.72 ERA and has added yet another dimension to this ballclub's rotation.

The Astros have an advantage over the other teams competing in that division; they have a prolific leadoff man. Michael Bourn, who came to Houston in the Brad Lidge trade, quickly is becoming one of the game's most enticing players. He has a .354 OBP and is leading the National League in stolen bases (35) and triples (8). His presence on the bases gives RBI men Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman chances to put up big offensive numbers. We've seen guys such as Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins bring a jolt to teams; it's without question that Bourn can do the same for Houston.

We've seen the Killer B's in Houston, but imagine if they had Killer Roys in the front of their rotation? If Drayton McLane and Ed Wade are looking for a boost, they need to involve themselves in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. Having the righty Roys pitch on back-to-back days will guarantee you at least one win, if not two. Add in Rodriguez and Brian Moehler, and things are looking pretty good. Houston does have a history of trading for an ace at the deadline. Randy Johnson was brought in as a rental in 1998. Even if a team such as the Phillies lands Halladay, there is always a chance to get into talks with the Indians for Cliff Lee. If McLane is willing to take the chance on either guy, it certainly would be worth it.

Unless the Astros can make a trade, their chances for October are slim. They will continue to push along like they always do. Their middle-of-the-order hitters (Berkman, Lee, Tejada) are among the best in baseball. Then you add in veterans such as Ivan Rodriguez and Darin Erstad, and scrappy youngsters Hunter Pence and Bourn, and this team was bound to get hot any minute